


(Lifes) Terms & Conditions

by lcdrsuperseal



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Coda, Danny is there for his boy, Episode tag: s10e07, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Spoilers, Steve McGarrett Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-02-01 04:20:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21374293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lcdrsuperseal/pseuds/lcdrsuperseal
Summary: Steve screwed his face up, and no matter how hard he tried that voice would not stop repeating those words. He kept thinking of that dream, laying in bed while Doris read Moby Dick to him, and he wished more than anything that he could hear her voice once more.Or: Danny turns up to put a broken Steve back together.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Comments: 28
Kudos: 233





	(Lifes) Terms & Conditions

**Author's Note:**

> THIS EPISODE BROKE ME INTO A MILLION TINY PIECES, TO MATCH STEVES HEART.
> 
> He will be a changed man after this. If it's mentioned again, and let's be honest this show has a habit of forgetting major plot lines.

"I'll take the couch then, not like I've just flown across the Pacific or anything…"

Steve shut the bathroom door on Danny's rant, unable to hear any more. He braced his good arm on the countertop and hung his head over the sink, the bubble of emotions inside him was threatening to overflow and he didn't know what to do.

Danny turning up wasn't really a surprise, in fact Steve almost expected him to be there with Junior and his SEAL buddies, and no matter what he said they both knew that he was glad his partner was there. 

_ Doris was dead.  _

_ His mom was dead. _

Steve screwed his face up, and no matter how hard he tried that voice would not stop repeating those words. He kept thinking of that dream, laying in bed while Doris read Moby Dick to him, and he wished more than anything that he could hear her voice once more. 

"Steve? Buddy, you alright?"

Danny's voice cut through his vison, and Steve gripped the countertop even harder. This _thing_ between them was still new, and Steve fucking hated the universe for its shitty timing. He was finally with someone who loved him unconditionally, and now he felt himself slipping deeper into the darkness in his head. He was an unstable wreck, and Steve knew that someone with his background and skills should never let themselves get this unhinged.

He was broken.

"Hey, come on," Danny's soft voice was suddenly right next to his ear, and Steve briefly wondered when he'd opened the door as he let himself be led over to sit on the edge of the bed, Danny squatting in front of him. "I need to change those dressings on your neck, got any spare?" 

"Uh," Steve swallowed past a lump in his throat as he forced his brain to think.  _ Doris is dead.  _ "In, um, in my bag."

Danny squeezed his good hand as he stood up and rummaged through his rucksack, coming back to sit behind him on the bed with new gauze and tape. "Normally I'd say shirt off, but y'know, broken arm. Okay, sit still for me, babe."

Steve bowed his head to give Danny better access, and barely felt when the tape pulled at his skin as it was removed. He was grateful that Danny didn't try and get him to talk, but he could sense that he wanted to, could feel the need practically radiating off of him almost as much as he physically felt Danny huff in annoyance as he carefully cleaned his wounds before placing fresh gauze and tape over them.

"Okay, all done babe." Danny readjusted Steve's shirt before jumping off the bed to dispose of the trash, before coming back to stand over him. "I think I already know the answer to this, but have you eaten at least today?"

Steve shook his head. "I think I had something on the plane… m'sorry."

"I figured. Wanna get room service, or go somewhere else?" Danny asked as he ran the fingers of one hand through Steve's hair, smiling sadly when the only response he got was a shrug before his head fell to rest on Danny's stomach. "Yeah I figured that too."

* * *

Room service came, and Danny had almost finished his meatball sub by the time Steve had took the first bite of his tuna melt. He watched him eat like a hawk, sighing in relief when Steve eventually swallowed the last mouthful and washed it down with a full glass of water. 

"Come on, let's get you into bed." Danny said.

Steve lifted his hips so Danny could get his trousers off, and couldn't help but sigh when he got under the duvet. 

"Danny?" Steve asked once Danny had flicked the main light off, the bedside lamps casting a warm glow over his face. 

"Yeah, babe?" He replied as he pulled his jeans and overshirt off.

Steve opened his mouth, but the words couldn't seem to get past the lump that was still in his throat. Instead he let his good hand drop to the space on the bed beside him, hoping that that was enough of a hint. Danny nodded, and after making a quick trip to the bathroom he lifted up the covers and slid in next to Steve, laying on his side so he could face the other man.

"Wanna talk about it?" Danny asked once Steve had rolled over to look at him, a hand tentatively placed on his boxer-clad hip. He'd heard some stuff from Junior of course, but he also knew that Steve hadn't spoke to him about it since it happened.

"She said that she loved me," he said quietly, tongue darting out to wet his lips. "Before she… I didn't wanna let go."

Danny shuffled closer until they were practically breathing the same air, his hand moving up to rub his back. "At least now… you can go visit her whenever you want." he whispered, kissing the tip of Steve's nose when he nodded. "Know where you want her to go yet?"

"No… still need to tell Mary… fuck, what do I say, Danny?" Steve asked, his voice wavering.

"I dunno, babe. I dunno. We'll figure it out when we get home." Danny replied. "Right now, we both know you're exhausted, and that mouth breather kept me awake all the way here."

Steve sniffed. His good arm came up to clutch at Danny's shirt and he bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself, but his partner saw right through him.

"It's okay, baby. It's just us here, you can let it out." Danny whispered. Steve took a deep breath in, and as he let it out the first of many sobs did too. "There you go, c'mon." 

Danny wrapped a shaking Steve up in the duvet and his arms and held him as he cried; cried for losing a future with her in it, for losing her like this, for losing yet another member of his family, for losing his  _ mom, who loved him. _ Steve just wanted her to come home for  _ him, _ because she sacrificed her life with him to raise Wo Fat, who she flew to visit and looked for… never for Steve.  _ Never.  _ And he kept dreaming about Doris reading to him, then waking up drenched in sweat from a panic attack because he couldn’t hear her.

Ever since he killed Wo Fat five years ago, he just wanted to know that he was still important to her, that she actually loved him, and now at last, albeit too late, he had his answer. 

“I just want her back, Danny. I want her to read me stories again, to be the bane of my fucking life, I don’t care. I just want her back…” Steve choked out against Danny’s collarbone, not caring that his bad arm was starting to complain about being wedged in between them. He almost welcomed the pain. “I-I-”

“Sshh, I know.” Danny couldn’t bear hearing the raw pain in his best friend’s voice, but he knew that what Steve was feeling was ten times worse. And it would be even harder when they got back to Hawaii and Steve’s house,  _ oh god Steve’s house,  _ because although Steve had decorated a bit over the years it was still mostly full of his parent’s stuff. And Doris’s journals were still lying around, and of course Steve is going to read them again and again, in case he missed anything that could have forewarned him of her betrayal.

Eventually the tears stopped, and when Danny chanced a look down he realised that Steve had cried himself to sleep. He didn't even stir when Danny toyed with his beard - and boy did  _ that  _ need to go first thing in the morning, another physical reminder of these eight weeks of hell - before going back to his hair as, as he mulled over Steve's words earlier.

None of what happened was on his terms or Steve's, life just fucked things up for him like it has a habit of doing. But if Danny had anything to do with it, the rest of _their_ lives would be on  _ their _ terms.


End file.
